2023-09-10 07:44:02
Twenty-seven players will participate in the Canadiens’ rookie camp next week and will have the chance to showcase themselves during a three-game tournament in Buffalo. This will be an opportunity for some high-level prospects to show that they can soar above the competition, and for others, less known, to improve their position in the organization.
We offer you insight into six of these hopefuls who will be worth watching over the coming days.
David Reinbacher
Last fall, the Canadian welcomed Juraj Slafkovsky to rookie camp with a predisposition to keep him in Montreal. He was going to have to prove himself, of course, but there was a favorable bias towards the idea of keeping him in the Canadiens’ entourage throughout the season. One bite at a time, the organization would feed him with information and integrate him into the life of the National League.
Slafkovsky’s physical maturity, the fact that he plays on the wing and his professional experience against adults were all arguments to keep him in Montreal.
This is why we cannot immediately exclude that the Canadian does the same thing with David Reinbacher, his first round choice in the last draft. Reinbacher is praised for the maturity of his game, he has also proven himself against men, and his size is not an obstacle.
Logic would dictate that the 18-year-old defender would return to Switzerland: it is often said that young players can arrive too early in the NHL, but never too late, defenders take a little longer to develop, and the amount of guards who can claim positions in Montreal limit his chances. It could well be that Reinbacher is only there to have a first experience in North America and to give an idea of the distance he still has to go. However, the precedent created by Slafkovsky and the open-mindedness of management in this regard leads us to believe that if he forces the hand of his bosses, Reinbacher will give himself a chance to start the season in Montreal.
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Logan Mailloux
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Logan Mailloux
TVA Sports reported two weeks ago that the 20-year-old defender had received the green light to play in the National League if he deserved a place there, but the various official bodies are still giving themselves time before confirming this decision. From the start, however, it appeared unlikely that Gary Bettman would sanction Mailloux further for the sexual offense he committed in November 2020, when he was playing in Sweden. The affair led to immense controversy surrounding his drafting by the Canadian the following summer.
Mailloux’s offensive production in junior hockey has excited many fans who are quickly imagining him in Montreal, but we should expect him to first refine his defensive game in the American League. His decision-making and his level of vigilance in his territory, as well as judicious use of his body and his stick, need to be improved. His strengths in attack, however, are beyond doubt, whether it be the power of his shot, his ease in carrying the puck or his propensity to support the attack as a fourth man.
Not so long ago, being a right-handed defenseman in the Canadiens organization held out the possibility of an accelerated rise. However, even ignoring Reinbacher, Mailloux would have a few right-handers to supplant this year to achieve his goals. The Canadian recently acquired Gustav Lindström in the Jeff Petry trade with the Detroit Red Wings. Justin Barron and Chris Wideman will keep Mailloux from being thrust into the National League environment too quickly, as will left-handers Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris who are capable of playing on the right.
You add up his suspension from the OHL, the slowdown in league activities due to COVID as well as shoulder surgery that required several months of rehabilitation, and Mailloux didn’t play much during his junior internship with the London Knights. He still took part in 59 season games and 21 more in the playoffs last year, and the Canadian now has a better idea of the kind of player he is.
Mailloux nevertheless lacks mileage and this calls for a certain patience.
William Trudeau
The Quebec defender can take advantage of the rookie camp to quickly send the message that he intends to continue his momentum from last year. Trudeau was one of the biggest surprises in the Canadian’s pipeline, so much so that he could be recalled during the season if he keeps up the pace.
Last fall, after doing well at the Canadiens camp, Trudeau shone at the Rocket camp before taking advantage in Laval of the fact that Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj had both earned a position in Montreal. Trudeau began the campaign as the Rocket’s seventh defenseman, but his confident play quickly allowed him to climb the ranks. He has become a trusted man of head coach Jean-François Houle.
His selection in the fourth round in 2021 had been as discreet as the young man himself is, but Trudeau is now a prospect to be reckoned with.
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Philip Mesar
Photo: The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes
Philip Mesar
The challenge for the Slovak forward during rookie camp, and subsequently during the Canadian’s main camp, will be to demonstrate that he is ready to play with the Laval Rocket. The 19-year-old winger played for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario League last season, in an environment that was apparently not optimal. As a European, Mesar has the right to play in the American League even if he is not 20 years old, and it will probably be the Habs’ preference to send him to Laval.
The 26th overall pick in the 2022 draft went through a serious adjustment last year when he transferred to North American ice and, beyond the turmoil in Kitchener, he could have had a bigger impact. Mesar is a player who likes to not lose speed and stay constantly moving, but will need to incorporate stops, contact and puck battles into his game. The extent to which he has incorporated these details will help the Canadian establish where he is expected to play next season.
Riley Kidney
The former center of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the Gatineau Olympics experienced difficult training camps two years in a row with the Canadian. Last year, among others, the rookie tournament was a difficult test for Kidney, and he will have to be more convincing this time.
At the QMJHL level, Kidney has been a dominant player over the past two seasons, with production that has nothing to envy of that of Joshua Roy. The trade that sent him to Gatineau, in particular, took him to a whole new level. That said, the organization is aware that despite his offensive strengths, the Canadian’s 2021 second-round pick has a way to go to gain maturity in his game. This is where the cases of Roy and Kidney, because the Quebecer knew how to add strings to his bow and further began the work towards a more complete style of play.
Kidney was a star in junior, but heading into his rookie season in the American League, he still has points to gain with the staff.
You Smilanic
The forward obtained from the Florida Panthers in the Ben Chiarot trade had a turbulent college career that he decided to give up. Initially enrolled at Quinnipiac, he decided to move to Wisconsin to play on a more offensive team and more likely to benefit his scoring skills. However, his season in Madison was a failure on all fronts and, according to what we have learned, the 21-year-old American chose not to return.
So here is Smilanic invited to the Canadiens’ rookie camp, without a safety net and harboring the hope of landing a professional contract at one level or another. Given his misadventures in recent seasons, aiming for an NHL contract would perhaps be ambitious, but it is not excluded that we find him in Laval or Trois-Rivières next season.
We saw some offensive skills in him the year he was drafted, but things haven’t taken off since. Smilanic is not a top prospect for the CH, but on a human level, this rookie camp looks like a moment of truth for him.
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